Pay It Forward - April 14, 2010

I want to share a 'Pay It Forward' experience or a 'Random Act of Kindness' that Jimmy and I and our boys experienced about a month and a half ago. I am not sure why I didn't post it at the time it happened but this situation keeps coming to mind so I wanted to share it with all of you...

It just goes to show you that there are still some very generous, wonderful, kind and caring people in this world. It is so sad that all we hear about on the news or what we share with each other always seems to be negative or the worst in people. We need to take more time and focus on positive things and good deeds and people.

Anyway, here is our experience...

Jimmy and I and our boys decided to go out to eat after our tax appt. We went to an oriental buffet restaurant (the kids always want to eat there cause they can go pick whatever they want) anyway, there were just a few people in the restaurant it was not very busy at all...

To make a long story a little shorter, we ate our dinner and the kids are finishing up there little bowl of ice cream and the lady brings over the little ticket tray with only fortune cookies on it and no ticket...

She proceeds to tell us that one of the families paid for our dinner...

Jimmy asked who and she said do you remember seeing the couple and the teenage boy who were sitting across from you by the window and we said yes but that we did not know them...

She said let me go see if there is a name...

She came back and said she did not know who they are...but that a single gentleman at one of the other tables has paid for their meal so in turn they paid for ours...

The waitress kept saying 'I don't know what is going on and I don't know why they all paying for other dinners'...

So we told her thank you and then we just sat there for a minute looking at each other...

I said well let's pay for someone else's dinner and the boys thought that was a great idea and Jimmy said ok that sounds good...

There was a couple with a baby in the next booth and then a hispanic couple behind us and then two young kids who were already heading up to pay...

We decided that we would pay for the couple who had the baby...

So when we get up to leave the waitress is telling us good bye and have a good night and I said well we want to pay for the couple's meal that has the baby...

and the waitress just looked at me like she was in shock and she said 'what is going on here with everyone, I don't understand'...

I told her since our meal was paid for that we wanted to pay for theirs...

She went and looked but they already had their ticket...

So I said ok what about the hispanic couple and she said they have already paid and they are just sitting there talking...

She kept telling me, 'don't worry, you don't have to do that and she said don't worry your dinner was paid'...

I told her I know that but we were wanting to pass this little blessing on to someone else...

She said 'no no you guys don't have to do that I know you are good people just go, go, everyone is paid and I don't know why you all do this'...

I tried to explain it to her and then I just gave up she was not getting it. So I told her we will just have to pass on the blessing to someone else in some other way...

The poor oriental waitress was so confused she couldn't believe everyone was paying for everyone else's meals...

It was a really neat to experience the 'Pay It Forward' situation that took place. I am glad my boys were a witness to it, to see that there are still some very kind and generous people in the world and how we could also do something nice for someone else without even knowing them!